Valencia Paves The Way

Antonio Valencia’s inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year will have delighted Sir Alex Ferguson, who believes the Ecuadorian was an ideal acquisition for United.

Now 24, the winger was the manager’s first capture of last summer, arriving from Wigan Athletic on 30 June for an undisclosed fee. He started the opening league game against Birmingham on the right flank and has hardly looked back since, making 49 appearances in all competitions; only Patrice Evra has played more often.

In short, Valencia has had an excellent first season and his successful introduction will encourage Sir Alex to seek out signings of a similar profile.

“When we brought in Nani and Anderson a few years ago, and before them Ronaldo and Rooney, we were rebuilding the team through youthful players,” Sir Alex said during his monthly interview for Inside United.

“We’ll continue to do that. Everyone talks about us bringing in a big name but it’s very difficult. It’s not as easy as people think. So therefore we have to look at the club's structure and at what we need to keep ourselves at the top.

“Last year we signed Valencia, who was 23 at the time. That is a good age to bring someone in.

He’d had two seasons with Wigan and was therefore used to the Premier League. We saw the potential in him and that has since proved itself.

“He’s improved himself almost every month he’s been at this club. He’s been a great signing.”

Sir Alex has already signed two young players for next season – 20-year-old Fulham defender Chris Smalling and, subject to a work permit, Mexican forward Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, who turns 22 on 1 June.

Age concern
The average age of players signed by United in the last three seasons is 23.
21 - Javier Hernandez*, 8 April 2010
20 - Chris Smalling, 28 January 2010
21 - Mame Biram Diouf, 30 July 2009
23 - Antonio Valencia, 30 June 2009
29 - Michael Owen, 3 July 2009
20 - Gabriel Obertan, 8 July 2009
20 - Ritchie de Laet, 8 January 2009
21 - Zoran Tosic, 1 January 2009
27 - Dimitar Berbatov, 1 Sep 2008
24 - Manucho, 1 January 2008
23 - Carlos Tevez, 4 August 2007
25 - Michael Carrick, 31 July 2006
26 - Owen Hargreaves, 1 July 2007
19 - Anderson, 2 July 2007
24 - Tomasz Kuszczak, 2 July 2007
20 - Nani, 2 July 2007

*Subject to a work permit.